Cruisers are still not doing their job. This is the result of the tenth annual report on the environmental sustainability of this sector, conducted by the largest conservation organization in Germany. Cruise ships emit large amounts of polluting gases into the atmosphereequivalent to tens of thousands of cars, apart from many other crashes at sea.
For the tenth year in a row, arrangement The German environmental organization NABU, which evaluates the measures and targets implemented by cruise companies with routes in Europe, in relation to polluting emissions.
A survey was conducted with 19 maritime companies that could get the most 17 points. Again, Hurtigruten Norway, which was classified first, achieved only half the score, with the remaining eighteen companies lagging behind Norway.. The worst ranked include MSC, Costa Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Phönix Reisen or Marella. The results show that cruise companies have made promises and announcements, but have done little tangibly to improve the situation so far, according to those responsible for the study.
NABU cruise expert Sönke Diesener explains: “The results in the 2022 cruise rankings show once again that environment and climate protection remain distant goals for cruise companies. Heavy fuel remains the fuel of choice for the vast majority of the current fleet.”
Although most cruise companies declare that they have a climate strategy and are committed to the environment, the reality is that heavy fuel continues to dominate the current market and their order books almost exclusively include cruise ships. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is another fossil fuel with more potential climate impact than marine diesel.
More and more ships may have electrical shore connectivity, but actual usage remains very low. The use of batteries and fuel cells powered by energy produced from renewable energy sources is low and is only used as a complement to the combustion engine, given that it is not a sustainable or viable option for the sector.
As for the smaller cruisers, so-called expeditions have no better environmental outcome, because there are usually far fewer passengers than ships in the standard cruise segment. Also, an expedition is often accompanied by a flight to the other end of the world, so the total environmental footprint per passenger is very high. In addition, they often travel to particularly sensitive parts of the world.
Ecologists in Action remind that Spain is at the top of the list of countries most polluted by cruise ships, with the ports of Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca at the top of these countries. arrangement highlighted by municipalities and The cruise companies that operate the most in cities and that have more aggressive expansion plans in the region are precisely the ones that rank worse. Published: MSC, Costa and Royal Caribbean.
Prohibition of heavy fuel oil and liquefied natural gas
For all these reasons, the environmental organization is calling for an “immediate ban on the use of heavy fuel oil and liquefied natural gas and a mitigation plan to eliminate this cruise industry in the short term as it is incompatible with climate targets.” , the priority of protecting the health of the population, the necessary reduction of energy consumption and the urgent transition to sustainable and socially fair tourism”.
By the way, Debate continues in several Spanish ports over the advisability of reducing the arrival of cruise ships, mostly in summer. While the port of Palma de Mallorca has started an attempt to limit the maximum number of cruise ships that can dock each day to three, the town hall in Ibiza has already launched the idea to follow the same example, though currently. no decision has been made in this regard.
In Barcelona, another of the most crowded ports due to the constant arrival of cruise ships, the mayor Ada Colau continues to bet on limiting the number of ships to an amount considered sustainable, but government partners from PSC are reluctant to allow shipping companies to “self-regulate” the Port of Barcelona. act according to the criteria.
Detailed ranking of cruise lines: https://en.nabu.de/topics/traffic/32654.html
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Environment department contact address:crisclimatica@prensaiberica.es
Source: Informacion
